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Here are three bits of restaurants news you need to know. First, come Friday, the menu at Restaurant Iris becomes a greatest hits as it counts down to its temporary close after dinner June 2.

The 10-year-old restaurant is being remodeled and chef/owner Kelly English estimates it'll be closed for about two months. During that time, a limited number of Iris items will be available at The Second Line, English's sister restaurant next door.

For now, if you want to eat some of your favorites from the past decade, you better go do it, because when they're gone, it's over. When the restaurant reopens in August, it will be Iris 2.0. The interior will be redesigned and the menu completely new. No more lobster knuckle sandwich. No more surf and turf. No more trout amandine at Iris, though this dish will be available at The Second Line. Both the trout and surf and turf will be served at TSL during Iris' renovation, but only the trout will stay on the menu.

"We're bringing back the dishes that everyone says 'What about this one?'," English said. "We're going to have the amberjack with café harissa, seared scallops with gnocchi and fennel from the very first menu, veal schnitzel holstein, oysters three ways along with other stuff."

English only expected to be closed one month, but things don't always go as planned in the restaurant business. Ask Ryan Trimm. Two weeks ago he held a couple of soft openings at 117 Prime, the new steakhouse that Across the Board planned to open to the public April 23. But there was a problem with the vent-a-hood and he had to close before he could finish his round of friends and family, just hoping that he could get it fixed and open on time.

It wasn't to be, and a few optimistic opening dates later, the restaurant is now planned to open at 5 p.m. Friday for dinner. Lunch will come soon, but there's no date on it just yet.

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Pete & Sam's had to close after a fire.(Photo: Files of The Commercial Appeal)

And over on Park Avenue, Pete & Sam's reopening date after a fire and a renovation draws near. It's been pushed back several times, too, but May 9 looks good. We'll get over there soon and have a look around, try a few items and let you know about it.

And you can bet I'll be at Iris in May: The amberjack with café harissa is my favorite dish there, and I'm not going to miss it.

CA Lunch Bunch

There are a few spots remaining for the May 11 lunch at Joes on Highland, which I promise will be fun. The two Joes will feed us fried chicken, fried catfish, chicken fried steak, plus sides, dessert and tea for $20, and wine is available too. The food is delicious, the owners delightful, and the place deceptively large. We have room for 90 people and 12 spots remaining as I write this; if you find yourself on the wait list, no worries. If the weather is predicted to be nice, we'll add seats on the patio closer to the lunch date. Go to calunchbunch.commercialappeal.com to reserve your spot. A word about the wait list: As folks cancel, which tends to be day before or even day of, I'll send out an email to see if you want to come. You only need to reply to get added to the list. If you don't reply, I move on to the next person.

Recipe of the week

Memphian Lisa Gwatney came home with a big paycheck from the World Food Championships last week. She can't share her winning recipe for grilled and seared Wagyu ribeye filet, topped with truffle butter, sauteed mushrooms, seared foie gras, and an Amarone reduction, but she can share her Korean steak kabobs, which she cooked in the WFC semi-finals. You can find this and more on her blog at lisasfamilytable.com.

2 pounds beef tenderloin, cut into 1 ½ inch cubes (you can also use top sirloin)

14 smaller skewers or 5 large skewers

Shishito peppers

Red onion cut into large cubes

Directions

Combine the first 10 ingredients. Divide in half. Take the first half and place in a large zip lock bag with cubed meat to marinate. Allow to marinate 2-3 hours. Take the remaining half and place in a saucepan and allow to reduce until sticky and thicker.

Pre-heat grill.

Skewer meat, onions, and peppers on skewers rotating each ingredient. Salt and pepper each. Don’t over salt because the soy sauce is already salty.

Grill until desired doneness. I like to grill them until the meat registers 128 degrees. While grilling baste with the reduced sauce. After removing you can sprinkle sesame seeds and diced chives on them for a pretty presentation if you like. They will be delicious anyway you serve them!